Hiking Trails Near Omaha, Nebraska

While Omaha may not be renowned for its hiking opportunities, the city does have a surprising amount of trails to explore. Both of us have lived in Omaha for around 10 years and have loved exploring each of these spots. Keep in mind we’ve included hikes that are up to an hour away from Omaha.

Here is a list of the hiking trails in Omaha and the surrounding area, in order by our favorite. Keep reading for details about each spot!

Chalco Hills/Wehrspann Lake
Hitchock Nature Center
Glenn Cunningham Lake
Platte River State Park
Neale Woods Nature Preserve
Fontenelle Forest
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park
Schramm State Park
Loess Hills State Forest
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge
Walnut Creek Recreation Area
Zorinksy Lake
Standing Bear Lake
Flanagan Lake

Chalco Hills/Wehrspann Lake

Chalco sits in the southwest part of Omaha and is one of our favorites! While it has around seven miles of cement trails, it also has an extensive amount of single track trails that are great for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. It feels like an oasis in Omaha.

Hitchock Nature Center

Hitchock is near Crescent, IA which is a short drive northeast of Omaha. It offers over 10 miles of trails to explore. It’s known for its intense hills, beautiful overlooks, and is a great place for bird watching. There are also cozy cabins and hike-in campsites.

Glenn Cunningham Lake

Cunningham is on the north side of Omaha and similar to Chalco, it feels like an oasis in Omaha. It has around 6 miles of recently repaved cement trails and many single track trails to explore. There is also a frisbee golf course and rentals for kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and more!

Platte River State Park

Platte River is about a 30 minute drive southwest of Omaha and has over 17 miles of trails to hike and mountain bike. It sits right along the Platte River and has a beautiful waterfall that’s worth the hike to check out! There are also modern cabins and tepees for camping.

Neale Woods Nature Preserve

Neale Woods is a short drive north of Omaha along the Missouri River. There are over 7 miles of trails to explore and a ton of opportunities to spot wildlife! We love that it tends to not be as busy which allows us to really immerse in nature.

Fontenelle Forest

Fontenelle sits southeast of Omaha in Bellevue. We love the hiking trails, but also enjoy visiting the nature center and its Rapture Refuge. It also has a boardwalk with scenic views of the Missouri River.

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park

Mahoney is about a 30 minute drive southwest of Omaha. It also sits next to the Platte River and is near Ashland. Not only are there a vast amount of trails to hike, but there is also indoor rock climbing, treetop ropes courses, and a lookout tower. In the winter, there is sledding and an ice skating rink!

Bonus: check out the Strategic Air and Space Museum or The Wildlife Safari Park on your way out!

Schramm State Park

Schramm sits between Mahoney and Platte River. It’s on the north side of the river and has many rolling hills to explore. It’s also a great place for birdwatching!

Loess Hills State Forest

Loess Hills is the farthest from Omaha on this list. It’s an hour drive from Omaha but is well worth it! There are four different sections to visit and we’ve really enjoyed hiking at Preparation Canyon. It welcomes you with rolling bluffs and beautiful overlooks.

Honorable Mention

DeSoto Fall Colors

Zorinsky Sunset

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is about a 45 minute drive north of Omaha with a ton of diverse wildlife. We loved how peaceful and immersed we felt here!
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge is about a 30 minute drive north of Omaha near DeSoto. It also has a variety of wildlife and is a beautiful area to hike around!
Walnut Creek Recreation Area is in south Omaha, in Papillion. It offers both paved and grass trails to explore.
Zorinsky Lake is in west Omaha and is mainly paved trails. It does have a couple side grass trails to venture off into.
Standing Bear Lake is in northwest Omaha. It has a paved trail that goes all the way around and includes a floating walkway to cross a section of water.
Flanagan Lake is a newer lake and is not far from Standing Bear. It’s all paved trails and they have kayak and paddle board rentals here!

We’ve loved that these trails have given us the ability to get outside and enjoy nature. There are so many hidden gems in Omaha and we hope this helps you find your oasis!